GWGA had nine applications, this year they had
33 and funded 26 programs. Sissi Gann is chair of
GWGA, whose group raised $18,000 for the scholarships.
A recipient of the Mary B. Dinos Women’s Golf
Scholarship for three years, Jenny Bae from Lawrenceville,
is the State Amateur 2021 Champion. She
plays on the UGA Women’s Golf team and is majoring
in Sport Management. Her golf statistics and
wins conrm why this 20-year-old nished the fall of
2021 ranked No. 10 and No. 12 nationally, according
to Golfstat and Golfweek, respectively. She started
playing golf with her dad. She has three goals: obtain a
professional ID through Q School, play in the women’s
amateur game before the Masters tournament in
Augusta, and play in the U.S. Women’s Open.
Q School is a qualifying program to obtain a professional
ID and will allow Bae to play in golf tours:
US based PGA, LPGA, and European. She hopes to
attain her professional ID in the fall of 2022. To play in
the women’s amateur tournament before the Masters
Tournament has Bae smiling. “e Masters course is
one of the most prestigious courses and makes me feel
in awe.”
e Masters is one of the four elite men’s professional
majors but has never hosted a female event. e
Augusta National golf club has tossed around the idea
of hosting a woman’s Masters tournament, but since
they are a private club and have spent 80 years being
male only, they choose what they want to do and
when. In 2012 they invited the rst two women into
the club: former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and Darla Moore, one of America’s top bankers. e
aim was to choose two women who have had a professional
career equal to their male members.
Ace: A hole in one
Young players like Jenny Bae are following many elite
players who have emerged in women’s golf. Women
like the late Gloria Hughes, of Greensboro, an
accomplished golfer who won 11 championships from
California to Lake Oconee. And, Vicki Goetze-Ackerman
one of Georgia’s most decorated female golfers at
the national level, winning two U.S. Women’s Amateur
titles and representing the U.S. four times in international
team events. Her family lived in Hull, outside of
Athens.
ese women along with many others have played
golf and became leaders in golf organizations to encourage
more women to play. e women give back to
the sport in many ways. Such as Brenda Greer Evans
who has promoted women’s golf and has participated
in GWGA and GSGA tournaments for years.
Evans is the co-owner of Evans Farms GP and has
been in the Pecan Industry for 24 years. e husband
/www.rachelbellid.com